How Your Environment Affects What You Eat

Eating healthy can seem like an easy task until you’re at the point where you’re sitting there thinking, “I have nothing to eat.” In this moment of hungry weakness, you’re more likely to reach for that bag of chips or some other unhealthy snack.

You can avoid making such unhealthy food choices by surrounding yourself with healthy options. This way, in that brief moment of weakness, you won’t be tempted by the foods you’re trying to avoid.

At Intermountain Healthcare, we’ve removed sugary drinks and candy bars from our cafeterias and vending machines. We want to make sure we’re offering our employees the best choices possible so they’ll reach for a healthy snack instead of soda or a candy bar when they’re hungry.

You can accomplish similar results at home.

Here are a few easy tips to eating healthier

Shop with a Plan

When you go grocery shopping, go with a plan. Make sure you have a list with you, and stick with it. List all the different foods you enjoy and include healthier choices you’ll actually eat. That way, when you want a snack, things that are unhealthy won’t tempt you.

We all know we eat what we can find most easily. Not buying less-healthy food items helps you stick with your diet. Make sure to also plan out your meals for the week and include required ingredients on your shopping list so you’re prepared.

Prepare in Advance

One of the allures of most unhealthy foods is they’re fast and easy. Head that off by preparing ahead. Prepare different meals and put them in the refrigerator. Also try making a big batch of a healthier meal you really enjoy and separate it into portions you can take to work.

Try New Things

Get in the habit of trying new healthy foods you may not have tried before. This can help you start enjoying healthy foods you wouldn’t have previously considered.

Be sure to try things more than once. Sometimes it takes a little repetition before you really know if you like or dislike something. In fact, it may take up to 17 times before a child knows if they like something or not, so parents should plan to prepare the ingredient many different ways before giving up and moving on to something else. Do the same for yourself. Make something you like in a combination with an item you’re trying to get used to.

Following these tips at home can help you make healthier food choices. When you plan your meals, shop for things that won’t corrode your diet if you find them around the house, and go through your entire kitchen and fill it with healthy items. That way you’ll be more likely to eat a healthy diet and harvest all the benefits eating well will give you.

Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals (includes "virtual" hospital), a Medical Group with more than 2,400 physicians and advanced practice clinicians at about 160 clinics, a health plans division called SelectHealth, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in clinical quality improvement and efficient healthcare delivery.